


Not Without Mercy

by opalheart12



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: other characters and ships to come later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-26 08:04:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14996465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/opalheart12/pseuds/opalheart12
Summary: On that fateful night in Godric's Hollow, Lily Evans Potter survived Voldemort's attack. Now forced to live on without her husband and the father of her child, Lily must now navigate grief, motherhood, and the fate of the wizarding world with a little help from her friends.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I will be creating some original characters in this story and changing around certain details or events a bit so please be advised.

The burning pain in his chest was beginning to consume him. It would surely eat him alive, of course. He tried not to think about the way he might be adding to that with the glass of Firewhiskey in his hand.

 

He glared around the room, his steel eyes cutting from wall to wall as if he could will the entire thing to collapse on top of him. The pain of being back in this house, the place that stripped him of any joy or hope he had the second he crossed the threshold, was still strong.

 

“Are you going to do this for the rest of your life?” A hoarse voice asked from the doorway. There stood a man who should have been able to cool the fire in his chest but was unable to as his own heart felt as if it had been immolated. He was tall with a somewhat toned and wiry frame. His hair, a muted chestnut color, forced his hazel eyes to glow half-heartedly. His clothes appeared as sad as he was: a faded maroon sweater with an off-white shirt underneath, dark pants that had clearly seen better days, and far too old socks. He was leaning against the doorway, staring at the other man intently.

 

“Might as well.” The other man muttered quietly.

 

The man in the doorway came to sit next to him on the ancient sofa. He took the glass from him and drained the rest of it. “Hand me that bottle, would you?”

 

“Remus--”

 

“The bottle, please, Sirius.” Remus’ voice was stern and commanding, however laced with grief it might be.

 

Sirius did as he was told and handed Remus the half-empty bottle which he drained in only a few seconds. He tried not to be shocked. “That’ll hit you pretty quick, you know.” He murmured as he sat back. Remus nodded and copied his position.

 

They were both quiet for a few minutes. The house was empty for the first time since it had been built. Well, empty save for the two of them. They had just come back from visiting Lily Potter in St. Mungo’s. She’d been in a coma since Voldemort’s attack on their home a week before. They’d buried James three days ago. Harry was currently in the care of his grandmother, Dorea Potter.

 

“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Remus said eventually. “James is really...it hardly feels real.”

 

Sirius nodded numbly. James had been a brother to him, closer than blood could ever make them. A part of him still believed it was all an elaborate joke, that James would come in the door any second laughing about how gullible he was. He tried to shake the image of James’ lifeless body from his mind. He and Remus had been the ones to discover the horrid scene at Godric’s Hollow.

 

James’ body was halfway up the stairs as if he’d tried to run to Lily and Harry. He never made it, of course. Harry’s ear-splitting shrieks could be heard, louder and louder as they got closer to his room. There they found Lily on the floor in front of his crib, foaming at the mouth and seizing. Harry had a scar on his head, blood trickling down his face and mingling with the tears there.

 

Sirius had vomited right there. Remus, ever the collected one, ran a quick diagnostic spell over Lily before instructing Sirius to get her to St. Mungo’s as soon as possible. Meanwhile, he scooped little Harry out of his crib and inspected him for anything other than the scar on his tiny head.

 

All that felt as if it were a lifetime ago.

 

Lily showed no signs of waking up any time soon. Dorea refused to bring Harry to see her, stating she thought it might be difficult for Harry if his mother was yet to be conscious. Remus and Sirius were actively fighting her on the issue, of course, but it was a battle yet to be won.

 

At that moment, a translucent swan sailed into the room and both Remus and Sirius stood immediately. The beak opened and a serene, calm voice floated out. “She is awake. We will meet you there.” It was Dorea. Remus and Sirius shared a frantic look and set about getting ready to leave. Five minutes later, a loud crack was heard in the foyer of Grimmauld Place and the house was quiet once more.


	2. Chapter 1

The fluorescent lighting was doing her skin no favors. At least, that’s what Dorea thought absently as she entered the hospital room that housed Lily Evans Potter. Harry immediately fidgeted in her arms the second he laid eyes on his mother. Conversely, Lily’s eyes filled with tears and anguish when her bright emerald eyes traveled to the scar on his forehead. Dorea sat on the edge of the bed and placed Harry down so that he could cuddle up against Lily’s side, trying her level best to fight off tears that had begun to form in her own eyes as she thought about why Lily was in the hospital in the first place. 

 

Lily scooped Harry up onto her chest and cried into his hair. Harry smiled and laughed a bit which, of course, made both Dorea and Lily cry even harder. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re alright, my beautiful boy.” 

 

Dorea smiled at the two, happy to watch her daughter-in-law bond with her son after the tragic ordeal they’d been through. “I’ve kept him since...everything happened. Sirius was the one who brought you here. Remus brought Harry to me.”

 

Lily’s eyes filled even faster if that were possible as she looked over at Dorea, noticing the one name she hadn’t said. “James?” Her voice cracked as if she already knew the answer. Dorea simply shook her head silently and reached out to hold Lily’s hand. She felt as if her chest had been kicked in. She’d lost her husband only two years prior and now she’d lost her only child. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Lily breathed out. “I tried to--”

 

“Don’t you dare,” Dorea interrupted admonishingly. “I could never blame you for what happened that night.” Her tone left no room for argument. Lily could only nod and pull Harry tighter to her. 

 

“Lils! Oh, thank Merlin you’re awake!” Sirius’ voice suddenly filled the room and Dorea looked up to see both he and Remus in the doorway. 

 

Harry immediately sat up, a thousand-watt smile on his face. He reached out toward Sirius. “Pafoo!” Sirius smiled, though it was clear he was near tears himself and picked up the young boy.

 

“It’s been ages, Pup! How’s my favorite little guy in the world?” Sirius hugged Harry tightly and continued talking with him. For a while, all that could be heard was Harry and Sirius talking as if nothing had ever happened. They could all pretend, even for a moment, that their hearts weren’t ripped to shreds.

 

Eventually, Harry began to show signs of sleepiness from all the excitement and Sirius placed him next to Lily where he promptly went out like a lot. It wasn’t until they were all certain Harry was asleep that they began to talk about what had happened the previous week.

“I’m glad you’re alright, Lily.” Remus spoke up for the first time from a chair in the corner of the room. He’d gotten terribly skilled at being invisible when others were around him. 

 

She nodded wordlessly and began playing with the ring on her finger. “You know, I didn’t see him die.” Dorea’s heart constricted at that moment and she offered a reassuring hand to Lily. “The last thing he told me was to get Harry and run. We should’ve apparated. Used a portkey, maybe.” Lily’s voice was void of emotion. It sounded detached. 

 

“You did what any mother would have done in a situation like that,” Dorea replied. “You did all you could.”

 

“We’d been on the run for months. Maybe we should have left the country or something. Maybe if we lived in some obscure country on the other side of the world James would still--” Lily’s voice caught as a fresh round of tears came again. 

 

They were quiet as they allowed her to cry silently into her hand. She looked down at Harry and a sob wracked her body. “I can’t do this alone!” Remus got up and went to hug her at the same time that Sirius and Dorea did. She cried quietly as they hugged her tightly, each of them struggling with James’ death in their own ways. Harry, for his part, simply rolled over and draped his little arm across Lily’s thigh.

 

“You’re not alone,” Dorea said firmly. “You will never be alone. Harry has all of us.”

 

“I can’t go back to Godric’s Hollow!”

 

“Of course not, dear. You and Harry can come to Potter Manor. It’s far too big for me to live there alone, you know.” Dorea replied with a watery smile. “Sirius and Remus are welcome too, of course.”

 

Remus passed the matriarch a grateful look. “I’m certain the fresh air would do me some good. Besides, it’s been years since I spent a full moon in that charmed basement of yours, Mrs. Potter.”

 

Lily took a deep breath before calming down for the moment. When everyone backed away from hugging her she nodded to herself, as if she’d convinced herself to do something she hadn’t wanted to do. 

 

“What is it, dear?” Dorea asked curiously.

 

“My sister,” Lily answered. “I need to see my sister.”


End file.
